Companionship
by Libre
Summary: Kissing him? Is that what she had done? 'So,' Piper exclaimed on an exhale, heat suffusing in her cheeks, 'Now I know what a token is.' Finally Remus answered, 'I'm always happy to educate.'"
1. Solace

Huddling on the ground bent into the fetal position, Piper was tucked into the corner of the kitchen. She had crawled into this location in seek of the comfort the false sense of security lent her. Dried tears stained her cheeks leaving them parch and dry. Her limbs refused to cease their trembling.

It had been horrible.

Her father, Duff MacPherson, had found a new spell, ever the explorer. As a retired scientist of sorts, the aged man had been eager to practice the spell. This spell- this hex- this curse was a mild variant of the cruciatus curse, as he had informed her before performing the spell. It had the same effects as the cruciatus but with the added commodity or isolating the body part being tortured. Piper was still in such a state of panic-stricken shock that she had yet to locate the origin of the excruciating pain.

Taking cautious steadying breaths, Piper sat up slowly, leaning her back against the cheap cabinetry, and bending her legs, bringing her knees to eye level. She squeezed her arms in between her legs and abdomen, and then placed her head in her hands. Her head vibrated on the shaking foundation of her palms. Piper concentrated intently on forcing her hands to steady. Her efforts were futile. The more she attempted to cease their shaking the more violent the trembling escalated. Determinedly she removed her hands from her head and placed them under her knees squeezing them between her calves and her thighs in an attempt to quench the shaking. She was successful.

Now she focused on normalizing her erratic breathing. She won this battle with much more ease than her subsequent venture. After she regrouped, she leaned forward until she was on her hands and knees. Reaching and placing one of her hands on the nearby countertop, she pulled herself to her feet. Once drawn to her full height she reached a tentative step forward.

The exact moment her foot made contact with the ground an electric shock like pain traveled from the sole of her foot to the nape of her neck. Whit it did to the spine during its journey was unbearable. With a sharp cry Piper doubled over, over balanced and fell once again to the floor. She braced her palms readily, and caught herself before she crashed into the filthy linoleum.

Her spine.

He had cast the spell on her spine. She could feel it now, a lingering ache stinging her vertebrae. She wrapped her arm around her back and pressed her fingers lightly to her spine. She was testing her back, its resilience to the pain, and was pleased to find there was none. She challenged her discovery, pressing harder. Nothing happened. Flexing her spine experimentally she leaned back and pushed herself to her feet, without suffering any anxiety. Exiting the kitchen gingerly she peered into the parlor and discovered vacancy.

She crossed the stuffy room to the staircase, gaining ease and speed as she did so. At the base of the steps she distinctly heard the shuddering snore emanating from the second level of her home. Climbing the steps quickly she did not even bother herself with inconspicuousness. Her father had probably drunk himself into a coma after his exercise and was in no danger of waking until late tomorrow morning.

After reaching the top step she entered the only door on the right of the narrow hallway. Once inside her bare, and nearly empty, bedroom she approached her bureau and tugged open the top most drawer. The cheap, white, acrylic paint chipped at the corners. She rummaged her hand inside until finally locating the thin wooden shaft she had been searching for. Wrapping her fingers around her wand she unearthed it and tucked it securely into the waistband of her jeans.

Turning on her heel she bolted out of the door, down the stairs, and onto the front porch. The porch had only two beams at either side of the house supporting the shingled awning that sheltered it. There was an old wooden fence around the perimeter of the porch. Most all of the railings had been knocked out or devoured by termites. Piper jumped over the two solitary steps that led to the ground. They were both near collapse and Piper treasured her ankles too much to test their stability.

The sky was dark, not black, but a midnight navy blue. The stars were magnificent. They, coupled with the moon, provided the only light that would be necessary for the moment. She walked rapidly to the congregation of trees a few yards to the left of her house, her hand protectively covering her wand.

Piper endured the lonely journey by recalling something Remus had once told her. He had mentioned the stars while describing his school to her, claiming that they were never as exquisite at Hogwarts as they were here. Hogwarts had too many windows, all of which contained light that challenged, and cheapened the generous shine of the stars.

With a final glance to the heavens Piper smiled to herself before disappearing into the forest where the stars could no longer reach her, wand held in front of her.

"Lumos," she whispered, and her wand tip ignited shedding light on the thick of trees in front of her, navigating through the vines and branches that seemingly loomed out of nowhere. She was grateful for Eton's more lenient rules on underage magic. Students who attended Eton were allowed to perform magic outside of school, such as the Lumos spell. But those who attended Hogwarts were under strict laws to keep their wands to themselves. Remus had told her that.

Piper found temporary solace in the thought of her friend. But it was hard to maintain the warm feeling of comfort when she was submerged into pitch black forest where plants and roots tripped, and scraped her, where her wand was the sole provider of light. The subsequent stars and moon were of no service to her now as the tree tops entirely obscured them from her sights, and she from theirs.

Pushing her way through the offending forest that detained her from her destination, she longed for the inspiring sight of the stars. But even more so she longed for the arrival of her destination, and the solace she would find therein.

She rejoiced as she noticed the decrease in the plant population, as the trees grew fewer and far between, and shafts of light penetrated the barricade of the forest. Encouraged by her progress she flailed her wand free arm wildly, dissuading the branches that obstructed her path.

Until finally after pushing a branch aside she revealed the tiny run down flat that stood lonely, but proudly despite its dishabille, among a large clearing in the forest. She faced the front of the house, with an old wooden frame that had mosquito net windows, and no reinforcing doors behind it proffering an easy view into the cramped front hallway.

Relief overwhelmed her and a true sense of home coming accompanied it. Piper couldn't describe what it was about this house that inspired such a comforting feeling in her breast.

Despite her relief, she wasted no time in continuing to her objective. Immediately after her release from the forest she began making a wide cautious berth around the house, skirting just at the edge of the woods, until she was at the back of the house, where no windows threatened exposure, but only two wooden doors buried in the ground. These wooden doors led to the flat's cellar. Approaching the large wide doors she knelt on the ground and reached for the iron chain lock that was intertwined in the hooks of the doors and coupled them firmly together.

"Nox," she whispered, the flame from her wand immediately extinguished. Next she placed the top of her wand to the keyhole of the chained lock and said mutely, "Alohomora." She flinched as the chain slid immediately out of the lock and crashed on the door below creating a loud, hollow, thud. She didn't allow the noise to detain her any longer and began relieving the handles of their chained burden with practiced movements and nimble fingers. Piper threw the chain and lock into the surrounding grass before grasping one of the handles, and lifting it open as she rose to her feet. She let the door fall to the floor and began her descent down the concrete stairs, leaving the portal open behind her so that the glow of the moonlight could penetrate the darkness of the basement and aid her in her plight.

The light illuminated little in the dank cellar, except for cold concrete and the solid brick walls that refused to yield to the earth it was submerged into. But the moon glow merely worked as a spotlight, illuminating only the small area that it could reach, the area around Piper. But outside the perimeter of the light rested a calm, solitary darkness. She gripped her wand and held it bracingly.

"Lumos," was uttered and a light appeared, but Piper had not cast the spell, and it was not her wand that was now shining a light in the pitch dark. The light shone a few feet in front of her, and the welcome beacon of light revealed the announcer of the spell.

Casting a glow over a young man's face, the light allowed Piper her coveted apparition, she smiled wanly at the groggy expression of her friend as he stood; a few feet from his bed, wearing old flannel pants that had been mended repeatedly and a large shirt that dwarfed his already runty physique.

"Alright Remus?" She greeted in a hushed voice.

"Piper," he intoned in a cracked voice.

"Did I wake you?" She asked guiltily.

"What," Remus replied, "Oh, no, I'm always awake at," he paused to pull his leather strapped wrist watch into the light. "1:37 in the morning. You know how I'm an early riser," he finished in monotone.

With a grin alighting her face she apologized. "The chain fell out too fast. I wasn't expecting it. I can only imagine that's what woke you."

"Probably," he concurred. "So what motivated you to flee your home and break into mine at such an hour?" he questioned as he turned away from her to flick the light switch near the ascending stairwell. The cellar was overwhelmed with fluorescent light that originated from two rectangular hanging lights that were held to the ceiling by white electric cords.

After Remus extinguished his wand he turned about to face her. Piper quenched the shiver that threatened to wrack her at the memory of her father's game. Remus understood the silent signal, and Piper did not miss the knowing expression on his face, a familiar expression Piper knew well. Completely ignoring his question she raised a precarious eyebrow and indicating the wand she questioned "What was that?"

Taking a seat in an old shoddy recliner he replied "What?"

Piper crossed the cellar and seated herself on the bed Remus had silently offered and replied "Magic, Remus? Outside of school? Is that not against Hogwarts regulation?"

"No, actually it isn't. I'm of age now, so I am at liberty to perform all the magic I want including a simple Lumos spell." He grinned triumphantly.

Piper's heart immediately fell and she exclaimed mournfully. "Oh that's right! Yesterday was your birthday. I'm so sorry, I can't believe I forgot." She put her head in her hands shamefully and mumbled, "I know it was coming up soon but I…your mum, she usually invites me…" Now Piper felt embarrassed and hurt. Why hadn't Remus invited her yesterday?

"Yesterday I wasn't feeling all that sociable," Remus said quietly. Piper raised her head to him, and then immediately peered out of the cellar door that Piper had entered, the door still open she saw knowledgably the 3 quartered orb- the first waning phase of the moon that implied a subsequent full moon. She turned apologizing eyes to Remus. Despite the uplifting of her spirits she realized that he hadn't neglected to invite her but could not invite her.

"Oh," was all she could think to say.

"But my Mum is planning on inviting you today to make amends."

She pushed herself up on his bed and crossed her legs. "What do you want for a gift?"

"Merely the pleasure of your company." He replied. "Besides, the Marauders got me more gifts than I know what to do with, and Sirius got me gifts that I have no clue what to do with." Remus' cheeks turned a suspicious shade of red.

Piper raised an eyebrow, "What did he get you?

Remus shifted awkwardly, cleared his throat twice and said, "Just . . . guy stuff."

Piper persisted, "What kind of guy stuff?"

"Nevermind."

"So how are all of the Marauders?" Piper giggled as she thought fondly of the outrageous tales Remus had spun about his mischievous comrades. Although she had never met them she felt as if she had known them, as Remus had, for years.

"They're all well and good…except Sirius…"

"Padfoot, right?" Piper interjected.

"Right. He's having more trouble with his family. You know, they're purebloods, and well…" Remus finished with a shrug. "They have very set ideas about their social position, and Sirius doesn't necessarily agree with their notions."

"That would be so horrible, to be an outcast in your own family." Piper voiced quietly.

"Sirius can handle it"

Remus and Piper, congregated in his morbid, yet familiar cellar, conversed mildly until the sky turned a pastel shade of violet as the navy blue sky segued into a bright morning that arose as stealthily as the sun. When overhead Remus and Piper heard busy movement in the kitchen area, Piper bid a reluctant adieu and climbed out of the cellar and immersed herself once again in the thick forest. Now, made less daunting by the bright sun which permeated the forest bed far more effectively than the morose moon and subdued stars had several hours prior, she made her way stealthily to her own house. Once she emerged again, a sick sense of foreboding greeted her as plainly as the large ramshackle house that stood, dauntingly before her.


	2. A Token of Friendship

She had felt this prick of auspicious awareness before- the sense that not all was right. Closing the distance between her and the house placidly, Piper's unease piqued until standing in front of the door to her house she reached a tentative hand to the door. Her fingers were wrapped around the handle but she hesitated to pull it open.

A sudden blast propelled it open, whipping Piper's hand away, with a shocked scream she just managed to remove herself far enough from the danger as the door banged the wall beside it with fervent momentum.

"And where might you have been?"

Piper raised startled eyes to meet the glare of a formidable middle-aged man wearing a worn suit. Piper knew only too well the propaganda of the calm sting in her father's tone.

"I just-I-I…" Piper struggled to stutter an excuse. "Took a walk."

"Is that right?" His voice reverberated as if he were shouting in the mountains, rather then speaking, quite near whispering in a controlled and calm voice. Piper was nodding imperceptibly as he flexed his fingers casually on the wand that he held loosely at his side. He flicked his wrist and muttered an inaudible curse. Piper knew what was to happen only a moment before it did. A tiny orb of blue, emitting orange sparks shot rapidly out of the wand and hit Piper's shoulder, as her startled cry rent the air.

The orb melted into her skin and burned, literally burned her shoulder. Tears sprang to her eyes at the horrific heat that overwhelmed her shoulder. She flung her opposite hand to grasp it, but when her fingers were scalded by the burning skin, she let out another cry and dropped her hand immediately. Squeezing her eyes shut she crumpled to the floor and allowed her hand to hover as close to the burning as she would dare. Gritting her teeth in response to persisting sensation, she heard her father's calm and malicious voice from some where above her.

"Don't lie to me Piper. I can tell when you're lying…Now," he paused and Piper felt a stiff finger push her chin up. "Look at me," he ordered. Piper obeyed, tears burgeoning in her bottom lid as her mind screamed and demanded release from the scalding pain in her shoulder, "Where were you?" He asked again.

"Dad please," she stammered. "Lift the curse please," she begged.

"Answer me, and I will!"

"I-I told you, Dad. Please!" She screeched.

She heard an angry intake of breath above her, as the burning in her shoulder doubled in heat and intensity, She let out a strangled cry,

"Don't raise your voice to me! Where were you?"

"Remus!" She screamed. "His house!" Immediately the burning in her shoulder dissipated until all that remained was a stinging memory of the burning torment.

Her eyes fearfully searched the depths of the coal black eyes her father possessed. She felt, rather than saw, the anger that radiated from him. He brought his arm back in a long swooping arc before whipping it back down in a fury and smacking Piper smartly across the face, with such ferocity that it snapped her head in its direction.

"Did I not instruct you to avoid that werewolf?"

Cowering against a post in the porch she sheltered her head with her arms. When no disturbance of any sort occurred, Piper raised her head cautiously from its protective fort. Her father's harsh gaunt face peered down at her menacingly. Gone was the malicious pleasure of prior torment, now replaced by ripe, genuine anger.

"What were you doing with him?"

"I told you," Piper said inaudibly.

"You fancy him?" he sneered. "You think you have a little romance?" He laughed derisively. Piper was shaking her head imperceptibly at the accusations. "You ignorant fool. You are such a stupid little child." His condescension faded as he continued, "Fortunate that your mother should be dead and unable to bare witness to your shame. Befriending werewolves...of all things. Disgusting."

The unspoken defense to this verbal attack swelled inside Piper, but she dared not utter a word of it. A silent eternity passed before Piper's father straightened his back and gestured toward the door.

"Get in," he sneered. Piper obeyed rising quickly to her feet and taking long quick strides entered the desolate house. Her father followed closing the door quietly behind him. With her hand already resting on the banister that would lead her upstairs, her father began speaking as he stalked off to the dining room that had been transformed into a study for his purposes.

"I'll be back in a few moments," he yelled to her from within his den. Piper stood frozen on the first step. "I have a meeting with a few business investors." Business? Thought Piper. What business? "You are not to leave this house whilst I am gone," he demanded and after a pause, continued laconically," I shall be gone for a few hours as after our meeting I've been invited to brunch." From the den sounded the ruffling of parchments and the snapping of a briefcase being shut. From the den her father reemerged, briefcase in hand. Without so much as a glance at her he disappeared with a loud CRACK!

After her father vanished Piper reset her course to the kitchen where she rushed to the sink and grabbed from the countertop a gray rag that in it's better days had been white. She ran this cloth under the faucet and soothed her stinging shoulder with cool dampness, drenched with water. Moving away from the sink, still holding the rag on her shoulder, she collapsed in an armless wooden chair that accompanied the small dinette in the kitchen. Piper closed her eyes in blissful relief. She was nearly nodding off when sharp and repetitive tapping rent the air. Snapping her eye open, she accidentally dropped the rag onto the floor as she lurched forward. Her mind was frantic. Was he back? No- Piper's eye greeted two bright yellow ones that started back at her on the other side of the kitchen window. Pip immediately recognized the aged owl as that of Remus! She rose from her chair and went to open the window. The small tawny owl hopped into the kitchen, perching himself on the sink faucet, and offered to Piper his right leg, tied to which was a small note.

Fumbling momentarily with the knot, Piper finally relieved the old owl of his message and unfolded the parchment.

_Good Morning Piper,_

_It is a beautiful morning, wouldn't you agree? I hope I'm not sending this owl to early. I contemplated, but Remus assured me you would be awake, but what does he know?_

_Anyway, the intention of my letter is to invite you to brunch. Not only is it a beautiful morning but a beautiful day, as today is my son's birthday. (Well actually his birthday was yesterday but we're celebrating today). And we'd like for you to join us._

_Send word as soon as possible._

_Adelle Lupin_

Flipping the parchment, Piper conjured a quill, and wrote: I'd love to Adelle.

She tied the letter to the old tawny's leg and set him off again. Piper watched wistfully as the bird rose higher and higher into the air, flying gracefully despite his age, like a beacon of hope.

Sighing, Piper turned away from the apparition and ran to her room. Trifling through her drawers she pulled out a longer T-shirt with arms that would cover the scorch marks on her shoulder better then the skimpy tank top she currently wore. Piper left the same shorts on because they were the only pair she had and it was far too hot to wear pants. She brushed her shoulder length brown locks with vigorous intensity before throwing the brush down on her bureau and rushing down the stairs at break neck speed and whizzing through the door with little hesitance, and finally leaping from the porch before she set off through the woods at a half-jog half-walk.

Her only regret as she hurtled through the forest was that she had no present for Remus this year. Granted, she didn't get out and shop a lot, and she had stopped drawing pictures for him as a gift when she was seven. But what could she do? There was no help for it. She had nothing to give. Maybe she would give him a late present, if she could get her hands on something for him before school started again.

School.

Piper hated school almost as much as she hated home. People at school didn't particularly gravitate towards her. Frankly, she creeped them out. Piper wasn't exactly a socialite. She kept to herself for the most part and this seemed to put people off. But even with only a few friends, (and those few father wary of her) she was content. It hadn't taken her long to realize that she was not a "people" person. Perhaps it was because she'd spent the better part of her childhood almost entirely isolated, perhaps it was because she had seen how scary people were behind closed doors, but for whatever reason she was as fearful of her classmates as they were of her.

And the only person that she was entirely comfortable with was residing in the weathered flat just in front of her.

Jogging up to the door, she allowed herself inside and was greeted with a vacant hallway. But from somewhere to her left she heard distinct tinkering noises consisting of miscellaneous clicks and clangs, snaps and clinks of different utensils being utilized for their specific functions.

She sidled into the kitchen and found Adelle Lupin chaperoning a levitating mixing bowl. Adelle's back was to her and Piper indulged in watching her work quietly.

Adelle had the fine features of an aristocrat, soft but defined. Although the strain of her years had tried to belie her beauty with crow's feet and wrinkles on her high forehead, her vivacious eyes and glittering smile betrayed her crone disguise. The way she moved, gracefully and skillfully always surprised Piper. It was hard to believe that this apparition of womanly grace was inhibited with…her condition. Although today, thankfully, she seemed fine.

Suddenly Adelle spun around. When her eyes initially fell on Piper they widened with panic like shock. But a quick wave of recognition washed over her and she grinned widely.

"Hello, Piper, dear," she greeted as she crossed the tiny kitchenette and embraced her.

The fragile arms engulfed her as Piper said, "I'm sorry Adelle, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Nonsense, dear," she replied while pulling away. She touched her fingertips lightly to her perfectly coiffed gray hair and continued, "Remus should be down in a minute. I'm just finishing up breakfast here in the kitchen."

"Could I help?"

"Oh, it won't be necessary, dear. I've got everything quite under control."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked.

"Yes, dear."

Footsteps suddenly sounded, hollow upon the surface they walked, ascending a stairwell in a room adjacent to the kitchen. In moments Remus was standing in the kitchen entryway.

"Morning, Mum. Hello Piper," he greeted.

The three of them breakfasted on an assortment of muffins, blueberry, poppy seed, and apple nut, while light conversation was traversed. It was an enjoyable morning, pleasant and relaxed, enhanced by favorable company.

All in all, Piper enjoyed herself.

She had been there for little more than an hour when Remus escorted her to the door. She was leaving in reluctance, but she feared her father's return, He had said he would be gone for several hours, which could mean as little as two or as many as twenty-four or more. But due to a thoroughly instilled sense of caution, Piper was making certain that she was home well before the two hour mark.

"Thanks for coming," Remus said a bit awkwardly. They had known each other for years, which made these excruciatingly formal farewells rather unnecessary and overdone. But Adelle insisted on proper manners and appropriate words of welcome and departure. Remus humored his mother although he found it annoying. But what could he do when his mother was spying on them from the kitchen entry, just waiting for him to make a mistake so that she could emerge from the kitchen, upbraid him and demonstrate the appropriate thing to say right in front of him?

"Thanks for having me," Piper responded with a feigned expression of modest shyness. There was a laughing light in her eyes as she said in a falsely high voice, "I hope you will have me back some time." She fluttered her eyelashes which received an answering chuckle from Remus.

He shrugged and replied, "If you play your cards right. You know you still haven't given me my birthday present." Piper glanced over Remus' shoulder toward the kitchen entry and found that Adelle had given them an unprecedented degree of privacy. Remus must have somehow known this even though his back was turned to the entry. He wouldn't dare be so bold or rude it he knew his mother was watching.

"What do you want?" Piper asked.

"Only a token of our friendship," Remus replied.

"Define 'token'".

"Token is a very general term, admittedly," Remus mused. "It can mean a number of things. It's usually a small object of gesture that I supposed to represent or embody an emotion or concept."

"Such as?"

"Well a token of gratitude could be a 'thank you' card- a material token. Or a hug- an immaterial token."

Suddenly possessed, Piper stepped closer to Remus and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned forward and planted her lips firmly on his, For a long moment they stood, lips locked, surrounded by silence, except for the loud beating of Piper's hear which had apparently relocated itself to the bottom of her stomach yet somehow managed to pound right next to her ears, how did that work?

Her arms slid down Remus' shoulders, and very slowly she stepped away from Remus, who stood before her, eyes half closed, mouth hanging half open. It seemed to take him a moment to realize she wasn't kissing him anymore.

Kissing him? Is that what she had done?

His eyes fluttered open to reveal a blank expression.

Unbelievably Piper found her voice. "An immaterial token of friendship, right?"

At first Piper feared he had gone deaf. He was seemingly bereft until finally he replied, "Yes, yes I imagine that's what that was."

"So…" Piper exclaimed on and exhale, heat suffusing in her cheeks, "Now I know what a token is."

Finally a lopsided grin graced Remus' face and he said, "I'm always happy to educate."


	3. An Unexpected Departure

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I appreciate your feedback. And I do declare, lavender-skyes, that it's about time Remy got a little romance. Never fear, for I will be continuing this fic. I've got tons of chapters uploaded and ready for execution. Thanks again for reviewing. I hope you enjoy what I have in store for Remus and Piper.

* * *

Walking home Piper was still in a state of shock. She had not even begun to contemplate what had transpired between them. Indeed, what had transpired between them? What had she done? And for goodness sakes why? Questions without answers, but Piper would change that…when she could bear to think about it. 

By the time she emerged from the forest it was drizzling, a nice refreshing sensation, walking through the meek rain. Piper liked rain, the freshness, the sense of cleansing. She found it comforting. For this reason she strolled to her house, slowly, sedately. Perhaps she was reluctant to once again imprison herself in the confines of her home, especially when it was so nice out.

It was with much regret that she entered her vacant house.

As she trudged over to the old, beaten sofa, she felt her knees weaken, and when she was within safe nearness to the couch she allowed her legs to buckle and collapsed onto the couch. She was now leaning back onto the couch, her eyes itchy with tiredness, her body lax with lack of fuel, she realized how utterly exhausted she was. For painful reasons she had not slept the previous night at all, and now for the first time she felt it.

Allowing her head to loll and her eyes to close, Piper drifted into slumber reevaluating her…first kiss.

Her eyes snapped open at the sudden violent shake. It took her awhile to focus but when she did she saw her father standing over her, expressionless. It was a good sign when her father was expressionless, better then a sardonic smile that always preceded and insult, better than an obnoxious laugh which accompanied a ridicule, or worst of all a misleading, casual tranquility, which always forewarned an attack. But it was this vacant, empty expression that promised temporary safety.

Sitting up slowly, while rubbing her eye she greeted him.

"Hi Dad."

"Are you hungry?" He asked quietly.

Piper now realized how dark it was outside. And how hungry she was.

"Yes."

Her father moved off into the kitchen and began preparing food while Piper located a quilt near the hearth of the living room fireplace. She returned to the couch and huddled up under the soft knit yarn.

"You were gone for a long time," Piper observed, projecting her voice so that it could be heard in the kitchen.

"I had a lot of business," he replied from the kitchen.

"How did it go?"

"What?"

"Your business. How did it go?"

"Fine," he replied in monotone.

Curiosity overcame Piper, despite her better judgment she ventured, "Who were you meeting with?" An unperturbed silence fell. Her father did not respond. Piper dared not ask again. "How was brunch?"

"Fine," he replied quickly.

"Where did you go to eat?"

"The Ruby Dragon. It's a small establishment in Diagon Alley."

"Was the food good?" Piper asked.

Emerging from the kitchen with two bowls in hand, steam rising from each, Piper's father entered the room and handed her a bowl. Piper carefully leveled to bowl of soup in her lap. A rich salty aroma wafted from the yellow chicken broth. Piper stirred it, lifting spoonfuls to her mouth to blow on at random intervals.

"The food was well enough," he replied, downing the simmering substance without so much as a flinch. "The company was staid and the progress debatable," he murmured.

"Progress for what?"

Piper's father took another spoonful and ignored Piper's question. Finally, under Pipers probing gaze he dropped his spoon and said, "Enough about my day, let's talk about yours."

He knows! Piper panicked. This was the beginning of his manipulation. He would provoke her to admit what he already knew before punishing her. He knew! When he raised his head back to her gaze she realized she was staring fearfully. She blinked and looked away. Maybe he didn't know. She was just being paranoid. Besides, he wasn't exhibiting the normal traits that determined his anger.

"Uneventful," Piper replied. "The whole time I was in the house, and for the majority of the time I slept," she said dully avoiding his gaze.

"Really?"

"Hmm-mmm." She replied, spooning scalding soup into her mouth.

"Did your school list come yet?"

Piper almost sighed at the change of subject, so great was her relief. Instead she shook her head from side to side. "The school list won't be sent for maybe another week or so."

"So no mail today?" The question was posed pointedly, and Piper thought fearfully of Adelle's invitation.

"No," she replied cautiously. When her father did not question her further she embellished, "None, whatsoever."

"Then what was that owl doing in our house this morning?" Piper's hand stilled. She met her father's glare. Gone was the emptiness of expression replaced by a victorious glint shining malevolently in his eyes. Piper had no idea ho he knew about Remus' owl but she knew she could not lie about its arrival now, could not deny that it came. But she could fabricate why it came.

"Broken wing," Piper said quietly.

"Pardon?"

"The owl had a broken win. I fixed it and sent him on his way."

"Funny. He didn't have any splints or bandages when he flew back out the window."

Piper knew it was over, she knew she had been caught, but was curious as to why he wasn't acting as he always did before punishing her. Maybe it was because he had yet to learn where she had gone. But he would discover that soon enough. He always did. She could never endure his interrogations. Never.

"I'll ask you again, Piper. Why was that bird in our house?"

"Dad…" Piper began desperately. "It was his birthday." She pleaded.

"_His_ birthday?"

"Remus."

"The werewolf," just went over to celebrate with him, that's all," Piper's words gained momentum as she spoke, rolling over one another as she mumbled hurriedly in explanation. "Adelle made muffins and we just ate and then I…left." A quick, frantic memory of her aggressive overture surfaced distractedly in her mind. "That's all, I swear."

Piper saw the bristling anger that lingered just below the surface of the cool and distant reserve. She had defied him and he was furious. She knew this time it would be awful.

"You're going to stay with your cousins for the next week or so," he said quietly. After Piper got over the initial shock of his lack of action she contemplated his words. Cousins? What cousins? Duff MacPherson had no siblings and therefore Piper had no resulting cousins. Her late mother was an only child as well. What was her father talking about?

"What cousins?"

With a wave of his hand his bowl disappeared. Rising from his chair he said, "I suppose cousins is an improper term. They're friends of the family."

Piper was becoming more and more wary of this idea with every passing second. What was even more unsettling was her father's neglect of punishment. Why wasn't he doing anything? That same sense of foreboding that had assailed her this morning upon coming home returned to her now. There was something very wrong with this situation.

She loathed to ask, loathed to even speak in this uncertain territory, but found no help for it.

"Who are these people?" She question.

Piper immediately cowered as her father came at her with a quick forcefulness. He wielded his wand and she instinctively winced, knowing that she had provoked him. Nothing happened. Then a sudden coldness assailed Piper's lap. She looked down and found her half-devoured soup non-existent, She met her father's condescending smirk. He had tricked her into believing he was going to attack her when all he intended was to make her bowl disappear.

"These people," he began suddenly, "Are friends of mine. They have agreed to look after you for awhile."

"Why?" Piper asked in a tiny voice.

With a mad glint in his slanting eyes Duff replied, "Because I refuse to see my daughter gallivanting with a werewolf and as it has become apparent that my authority does not weigh with you, I must take the precautions I deem necessary in order to see that my wised are seen to."

"So you're sending me away?" Piper blurted. She was mollified at the idea of strangers, even more so then she was of her father.

"Precisely."

"For how long?"

"As long as I feel fit."

Feeling defeated, Piper glanced around her, trying desperately to quell the tears that threatened release. Taking a steadying breath, Piper asked, "When do I leave?"

Duff's lip curved malignantly. "Now."

Piper felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Her lungs ere deflated and her head felt very light and dizzy. Now? Right now? Strangers. But Remus? How would she tell him? Perhaps by owl once she arrived at her destination. Her unknown destination infested with complete strangers. She shivered.

"Go to your room and pack a small trunk. Quickly."

Piper slid slowly from the sofa and sulked to and up the stairwell. How could this be happening? Why? Piper hated strangers. She could identify with Adelle Lupin on that respect. Strangers were scary.

Piper even wondered if she too, like Adelle, had a social anxiety disorder.

Opening her bedroom door, Piper drifted into the room like a mournful ghost, and located her trunk. She propped it open and began packing her things.

Of course, Piper always reacted unreasonably at the thought of meeting people or being with a large group of people. In her mind she panicked, and dreamed of all the horrible things that could happen with unfamiliar strangers. But once immersed into the situation she handled herself fairly well- with the exception of the fact that she tried to avoid people and conversation, or any form of contact with them. She especially loathed being touched, by any and everyone, stranger or not.

But Piper assured herself that her fear of strangers wasn't nearly as acute as Adelle's. Piper clearly remembered a day over ten years ago. Remus had just transformed back into a boy, but he had seriously injured himself during his werewolf state, a deep gash in his abdomen. At the time Remus' grandfather had still been alive and living with them. It was he who had called the Healers. He also wrote to Piper, telling her that her play date with Remus had been cancelled because he was hurt. Piper had immediately fled to Remus' aid, but when she arrived at the flat she had found three Healers being held at bay by Adelle, who was threatening to curse them all if they so much as stepped a toe into her home, meanwhile her son lay in the cellar bleeding profusely with no one to heal him.

Piper would never forget that day as long as she lived. The horror of what she witnessed while crouching in the edge of the forest was forever branded in her mind as one of her worst memories. She would never forget the pale translucence of Adelle's once beautiful complexion, as she eyed the startled Healers warily. Never would she forget the white knuckles that grasped her wand like a vise as she jabbed it in the direction of the Healers yelling cruel obscenities at them. Never would she forget the way Adelle's entire, regal body shook with spasms before finally collapsing onto the ground in body wracking sobs. Never would she forget the way Remus' grandfather had stunned her from behind in sheer desperation to subdue her.

When Piper had been little it had been this scene that haunted her, knowing what soft spoken Adelle was capable of. Fearing the entire ordeal she had witnessed. But as she grew older and recalled the situation the entire impact of what had happened struck her. Because of Adelle's severe horror of strangers; she had neglected the dire needs of her son, her own son, because she feared the wizards that had come to heal him. Piper never quite respected Adelle ever again, and doubted that Adelle could ever be redeemed in her eyes.

It had truly broke Piper's heart to realize that one of the few people she had believed to be good could be as selfish and scary as her own father. No, Adelle could never be restored to her former glory. Never.

A meek tear over flooded her lid, but did not have enough momentum to slide down her check, so it remained in the crook of Pipers under eye and cheek, before she flicked it away with an angry finger. She didn't want to leave.

Hauling her trunk downstairs, while trying to force the lump in her throat to disappear, Piper's father came into view. He was standing over the fireplace, his left arm extended forward, leaning on the mantle. In his right hand he held a small strip of parchment, which he was eyeing until Piper's trunk announced her arrival as it slammed onto the bottom step. Piper gazed at the fireplace warily, standing stock still behind her trunk.

"Well, come here," Duff beckoned. Piper began to lift her trunk, but her arms had been exhausted from carrying the trunk downstairs. She pulled out her wand from the waistband of her jeans and with a minor blast from it, sent her trunk sliding across the weathered wooden floor to the fireplace. She followed the path her trunk had journeyed. Once she was standing next to her father, he turned to her, gazing at her wand contemplatively.

Without warning he plucked it out of her grasp, and pocketed it.

"You won't be needing it," he said in response to the bereft expression. Bending over, he seized her trunk and pushed it into the fireplace. "Get in," he murmured. Piper obliged, still not believing the hastiness of her father's actions, or his drastic actions themselves. Once standing in the hearth her father held out a small satchel of Floo Powder. Piper grabbed a handful, and held her hand face down in front of her, the powder sifting between the crevices of her fingers.

"Ar-are you coming too?" She asked.

With a careless wave of his hand he replied, "Only momentarily, I'll need to discuss a few things with your new caretakers. I'll disapparate after you."

Knowing that her father would be accompanying her offered an odd comfort to Piper.

"Where am I going?" She asked.

After a quick consultation with the parchment in his hand he replied, "15 Adlivum Avenue."

Piper released the powder from her fingers and in a herald of green flames dictated, "15 Adlivum Avenue."


	4. An Unexpected Arrival

MutantJediBauer- I'm glad to know that I've painted pictures for you when describing scenes- that's whatI strive to do and I'm happy that I've accomplished it. I'm alsopleasedthat you like my characters. I seem tobe getting a lot ofgood feedback on mythem and their dynamics. I'm so glad that you've all accepted my canon characters with open arms and open hearts! Brings me to tears . . . sniff.

Rubic-cube- Yes, I enjoy mytwists as well.Actually, I myself am a very twisted person, if you can believe that.

Alli and Kayla- Thanks both for taking time to read my fic. (And yes, Kayla you spelled Duff's name correctly). And Alli, I highly recommend writing your own fanfic. I don't doubt for a second that you would make me proud.

Thank you all for the reviews. They've all been constructive and specific- just the type of reviews awriter enjoys. I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've posted, and this next chapter isn't very lengthy- sorry, but it is insightful- in my opinion anyway. I particularly enjoy the ending : ). I hope you will too.

I'm so happy that thus far my fic has been a success, and I can't wait for you, my readers, to meet the angry Russians!

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Spread-eagle on his bed, Remus thought back to his most recent encounter with his long-time childhood friend, Piper MacPherson. Remus was still dazed by it all. It had happened so quickly, so unexpectedly. She had kissed him. Remus didn't know what to make of it all. Natural male instincts and a somewhat underfed ego inclined him to feel very pleased with himself indeed. But logic and reason told a different story.

He had known Piper for years, since he was a kid. They had been close friends for many years, a friendship that Remus had needed for many reasons. Piper had offered him support and lent him strength during his difficult adaptations of becoming a werewolf when he had been younger. His seven year old world had been knocked helter-skelter by one terrifying encounter. And in the midst of all the violent tumult that had ruled his life he had found a source of normalcy and stability in his adventurous five year old neighbor.

As they had grown older and Remus' grandfather had passed away, his mother had been an emotional wreck that Remus had struggled to cheer. But when Remus had felt so utterly defeated in his predicament it had been Piper that brought cheer back into his life.

And superseding his grandfather's death had been the new responsibility bestowed upon Remus: the caring and treatment of his emotionally unstable mother. Piper had always been there, for nearly every episode, to lend all the help she could and all the help she could and all the support she could supply.

Throughout every trial in Remus' life Piper had stood behind Remus, a source of silent strength, and unrelenting friendship. But Remus knew that all friendship was terminated with the arrival of more than friendly notions. How many of Sirius' female friends had come to despise him after dating him for a week? Too many times to count, Remus thought.

He definitely did not want that for Piper.

Remus turned onto his side wondering why he was still awake, thinking about that hiss. He was bound to never fall asleep. For several more minutes Remus lay awake trying futilely to clear his mind and lull himself to sleep. Finally he flung the cotton covers back and swung his feet to the edge of his bed and slid off. He trudged up the cellar stairs while dragging a hand through his dark blonde hair. He reached the heavy metal door reinforced with Impassable Charms, a feature that had been implemented after a most unfortunate experience during his third transformation in his new home. Remus flipped back the three bolts placed at one foot intervals on the right side of the door, before pushing his shoulder into the weight of the door to open it.

The small back hallway he entered was black as pitch, but Remus did not need any light to navigate the home he had lived in for the subsequent ten years. Not to mention the hallway only traveled in a straight direction. Remus walked down the hall, detouring on the second entrance to his right; the kitchen.

Remus paused as he entered the kitchen, listening for his mother's soft snores emanating across the hall. At least one of us is getting some sleep, he thought laconically, flicking on the kitchen light in an absent minded gesture, Remus crossed the area of the kitchen to the cabinets where he began pilfering small snacks.

CRACK!

The entire flat shook with the voluminous noise, and Remus dropped his small glass of pumpkin juice in shock. What the hell was that?

Speeding out of the kitchen and down the hallway, Remus was vaguely aware that before he whipped open the door his mother called his name worriedly. But Remus paid no heed as he watched a huge indiscernible object, obscured by blinding light recede into the woods at the speed of light. With his eyes squinted and his arm raised as a shield, he watched bewildered as the gigantic thing disappeared. He dropped his arm from his face as the blinding light vanished.

Remus was about to turn back into the house when a loud bark arrested his movements.

Bark?

Remus did a double-take and discovered the origin of the bark; a large black, shaggy dog was sitting directly in front of the flat, flagged by two trunks.


End file.
